Where He Sends Us | Dr. Andy Brown

Following Jesus isn't always the comfortable path we imagine. This message challenges our flimsy notions of faith by examining Matthew 10, where Jesus sends His disciples out with a startling declaration: 'I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.' We often expect that obedience should shield us from difficulty, that faithfulness should make life easier. But the reality is that following Jesus sometimes means walking directly into challenging circumstances. The beauty revealed here is that Jesus never calls us anywhere He hasn't already been, and He never abandons us in those difficult places. Like the good shepherd of Psalm 23 who walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death, Jesus accompanies us every step of the way. Our motivation for going isn't the needs around us, which constantly shift. Our motivation is the worthiness of Christ Himself and His command to go. We trust Him not because the path is safe, but because He is good. This message invites us to surrender our desire for comfort and control, to place our hand in the hand of God, and to discover that His plan is better than any light we could carry and safer than any known way we could chart for ourselves.

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Transcript

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For those of us who've been following Jesus for some time, if we're honest, we could say that following Jesus is sometimes difficult. Following Jesus is sometimes challenging. And sometimes I think that we have this flimsy notion of faith that says that following Jesus, if we're truly following Jesus, then things should get easier. But oftentimes following Jesus means difficulty. Following Jesus means rejection. Following Jesus isn't necessarily easy sometimes. Sometimes it makes us more exposed. We have this idea again that if we're faithful, then we should be shielded. But oftentimes obedience makes us vulnerable. Obedience makes us susceptible to different attacks and different levies that will be that the enemy wants to throw at us. Or if we trust God, we take a step in trusting God, and that means that it's just difficult. Jesus Christ calls us to follow him. Jesus Christ commands us to go wherever he sends us. Would you take your Bible, please, and join me in Matthew chapter 10? And in Matthew chapter 10, there's going to be a surprising twist that's going to come that's going to challenge some of our notions of what we truly think about following Jesus. Because remember, as we're saying, following Jesus oftentimes is difficult. Again, we obey and there's that tension that comes from obedience. We follow him, and that means that there's resistance with every step that we take. We trust in him, and that makes us again vulnerable. But Jesus, he's calling his disciples here. He's calling them to trust him. He's calling them to follow him. And here's the lesson that Jesus is going to teach us through Matthew chapter 10. Jesus Christ is never going to call us anywhere that he himself has not already been. And Jesus Christ is never going to leave us nor forsake us no matter what. Listen to this, and this may surprise you. In Matthew chapter 10. Now, set the backdrop just a little bit. Jesus is having a dynamic ministry in Matthew chapter 9. He's healing the sick. And there may be some appeal for those that follow him to say, look, this is what it means to follow Jesus. I get the power to heal the sick, I get the power to raise the dead. Matter of fact, in the book of Acts, that tells us that that was one of the draws for those to follow Jesus was, hey, if I follow Jesus, then I get to have this. But Jesus is going to have a surprising word for us. Listen to what he says in Matthew chapter 9 at verse 35, and he's going to lead us into chapter 10. Jesus went throughout all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, healing every disease and every affliction. Now this looks like a ministry that we can all sign up for, right? We're traveling, we're healing, we're seeing need, but let's continue. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly for the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. And so what's he saying? He's saying he's fixing to send laborers out into the harvest that God has ordained. Listen to what he says next in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 1. And he called to him his twelve disciples, and he gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast out, to heal every disease and every affliction. And so far we're thinking, oh, this is great. He's sending his disciples out with authority to heal every type of disease and affliction. And then for those of you who are wondering, you can look at Matthew chapter 10 and verse 2 through 4, and you can see all the names of those disciples, those twelve disciples. And then look at verse 5. Jesus, these twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them. Now notice the correspondence between Jesus' ministry, what we just read that he's doing, and what he's calling them to do. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, you receive without paying, give without pay. Now skip down to verse 16 for the surprise. Jesus says, Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. So be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. And just at that one moment, we're like, everything was good until then. But surely our sufficient Savior, who loves us, who provides for us, who has this plan that he wants our lives to fulfill, he has a purpose that he wants our lives to fill out. Surely, Jesus, this must be some mistake. Jesus says plainly to these disciples who have left father and mother and sister and brother and fishing nets and all the rest, they have given up everything to follow Jesus, and this is what they've given their lives to. They have given their lives to follow Jesus wherever he goes. And I just want to humbly ask you a question. Are you a follower of Jesus? And if you are, then you will see yourself as one whom he has sent out with a message. You see, you and I are sent individuals. The reason that we're sent is because Jesus Christ was sent. Notice, for example, in John chapter 20, as John's closing the gospel, as Jesus is resurrected, he's fixing to ascend back to glory. Notice what Jesus says in John chapter 20 and verse 21. He says, first, peace be with you. Now, why do you think that he said peace? Well, in that passage, they were confronted with the resurrected Christ. All of a sudden, a previously dead man has come back to life. And the first thing that he says to calm all of their doubts, to calm all of their fears, is peace. And that's exactly what you and I need as we consider the challenge of following Jesus. As we divorce ourselves from all of these notions of this flimsy following, as we divorce ourselves of all of these false notions that following Jesus is simply a life of ease, that we're going to be sheltered from danger. No, sometimes we'll be put right in the path of difficulty because that's the place that Jesus Christ calls us to be. Jesus says in John 20, he says, peace be with you. And then the next thing that he says, as the Father sent me, so send I you. You know what that tells us? That tells us that his very life becomes our life. And so we follow Jesus wherever he goes. Think about, for example, Jesus was sent in a world filled with darkness. That's why he came. The darker the night, the more the light gets to shine bright, as a bright and beautiful contrast. Jesus was not afraid of the darkness. Instead, he came seeking and saving lost ones. Your sins did not keep Jesus from seeking and saving you. Instead, what did he do? He came to the depths of your depravity to seek and to save you. And as the Father sent him as light in the midst of a dark world, he sends you. Remember what John says? He says, He was sent into the world as the light of the world, and the darkness has not, no never will, no cannot overcome it. You see, Jesus Christ is sent into the world. He knows that the cross is before him, but it's not simply the cross that's before him, is it? It's an empty tomb. It's resurrected glory. It's an ascension that he has. It's an opportunity for him to call us to proclaim the excellencies of the Lamb who was slain, who lives his life so that others may trust him, so that others may believe in him. It's his very life that's now lived inside of us. But oftentimes we want to neglect what it means to truly follow Jesus. It jars us. Jesus Christ says, I'm sending you as sheep among wolves. You see, you and I are sent because Jesus Christ is the sent one. It's his life that's now lived inside of us. It's his life through the power of the Holy Spirit that is lived and expressed in the reaches of our own life. Remember what Jesus said? He said, I am the light of the world, and I'm going to send you, and you are going to be the light of the world. It's not our light, it's Christ's life who's lived and expressed in as through us. And remember what that light is? It is an undiminished and an extinguishable light. Jesus challenges us. What's he say? He says, no city set on a hill can be hidden. In the same way, no one lights a light and puts it under a basket, but instead exposes it and gives light to those who are in the room. And the rooms that Jesus Christ calls us to, the rooms that Jesus Christ sends us to, could be rooms where there are wolves. Jesus Christ says, I'm sending you right there. You see, we trust Jesus Christ even when that path leads us to difficult places. We trust Jesus Christ even when that path leads us all the way through death. Go back, if you wouldn't mind, again, just to consider who Jesus is. Jesus Christ is the sent Son of the Father. He says, as the Father sends me, so send I you. He looks around and he sees these people are like sheep without a shepherd. He looks around and he sees them vulnerable. But what's our motivation? What's our motivation for living sent? It's not the need that's around us, it's the fact that Jesus Christ is worthy and Jesus Christ said, Go. We can't live our life living this life that He has for us to be His disciples, to be His followers based upon some need. Because those needs always change. And the appropriation, how we appropriate those needs or how we determine which need is best and greatest, those change as well. But our motivation for living this sent life is the authority of Jesus Christ. You see, our direction has been set. Our mission is secure because our identity is in Christ. And wherever Jesus says go, that's where we must go. Because we trust him, no matter where the path leads us, because we know what the Bible says in John 10. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is a good shepherd. What's the difference in a good shepherd and a different shepherd? Jesus sets the tone in John chapter 10. He says, the hireling, when trouble comes, the one who's just in it because of some external motivation, they'll run when they see the wolves coming. They'll run when they see danger. But Jesus says the good shepherd will lay down his life for his sheep. And that's the pattern. That's the life that's given to us. The same is true when in Psalm 23, for example. Jesus says, I'm the good shepherd. That's a passage invokes in our memory Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He leads me beside still waters. Even though, listen to this, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. The psalmist says, I don't have any reason to be afraid. You know why? Because Jesus Christ is there. Jesus Christ is there. He will never lead us anywhere that He Himself has not already been. And once He leads us there, He won't say, Well, I hope that works out for you. I'll see you on the other side. Remember the call to follow Jesus? Remember, and I say this often, it's not, hey, I'm going to meet you here at point A, and you have to go through point B, C, D, E, F, G, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah all the rest. And Jesus says, I'll be at the end of Omega. I'll be at the end of Z, and I'll meet you on the other side. That's not what Jesus says. Jesus says, follow me. Our motivation for living this life that Jesus calls us to is because we see Jesus Christ is supremely worthy. And he says, go. And wherever he says, that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter to me where he says go. The only thing that matters to me is that he said go. And we follow him wherever he says, wherever he leads. Because our motivation, again, is not the needs, because those needs are always shifting. How do you determine whether or not this need's greater than that need? That's not our purpose to determine which need is greater, or to live our life based upon some response to some felt need. Our life lived in Christ is to follow him, submitting ourselves with this posture of obedience and surrender that says, Here I am, Lord, send me, I am yours, take my life, spin me, use me, I am yours. Even if that means that he's going to send us in the midst of a group of wolves. We trust him. Full stop. We trust him. Because he's good. It's just like in C.S. Lewis, the lion, the witch in the wardrobe. When Lucy is fixing to meet Aslan the Lion. And Mr. Beaver's telling all about Aslan the Lion. And Lucy, this little girl, says, I've never met a lion before. I wonder if he's safe. And Mr. Beaver says, Safe? Who ever said anything about him being safe? He's not safe. But he sure is good. And this is the Savior who calls us. This is the Savior who greets us. Our motivation is we are motivated by the glory of this God who came seeking and saving lost ones. Nathan and I were in Japan. And I had this moment come to me and arrest my heart in a way that I wasn't prepared for. We went to a church in Japan. It was the Sunday after Christmas, I believe, or before Christmas rather, it was before Christmas. And they were singing Christmas carols, at least. We recognized the tomb, didn't recognize the words. So we're doing our best. You know me, I'm looking up uh the first Noel line, and they sang, and you know that verse, that uh it has five stanzas. Did you know that? I thought, man, this song is so long. But anyway, we sang it all. And then all of a sudden, I remember talking to the pastor afterwards, and that was probably uh the congregation, it really reminded me of my first church. It really did. There was about room for 90, maybe, and there was probably 12 that were there. And then I was looking and listening to the story of the pastor. And here is this pastor who has no seminary education, preached a wonderful message, a soul-stirring message. You say, How do you know? Because he printed us in English for us. And so his message that we were reading in English was beautiful. Come to find out that pastor is the pastor because the previous pastor that was there for a long time died. And there was no one else to step up and lead the church. And so this pastor, without any seminary education, had been the pastor for the past eight years. He doesn't have some of the external things that I'm blessed to have. He doesn't have things that would be a temptation to get him off of following Jesus wherever he goes, like I have. Like, I'm so grateful to Pastor First Baptist Church in Startville. I'm so grateful to Pastor here. I'm so grateful for the salary that this church gives me. I'm so grateful that this church wants me to dress nice. I'm so grateful that this church wants me to do all of these things and be here. I've got all of these external motivations that can become distractions if I'm not careful for faithfully following Jesus Christ. We passed out tracks on behalf of that church for on two occasions, and that was very difficult. At train stations, passing out invitations to the church's Christmas party, and most of the individuals that we met didn't want to have anything to do with anything we were passing out. And then the end of that day, he decided that he wanted to take our group out, seven of us. He wanted to take all of us out for some food. Paying for each of our meals. Matter of fact, the missionary that was there for a long time, he told us, he said, that that missionary called him the day before, and he said, I want to take this team out, but I'm not sure that I can afford it. But he paid for us to have a meal. Anyway. You see, we serve in a place where it's easy to follow Jesus. We serve in a place where Christianity is not persecuted. We serve in a place that was founded upon Christian principles, a place where Christianity has flourished. But there? Our team went and visited a museum of Christianity, which was just about the size of this part of the stage right here. And here is we looked and we saw that Christianity has been there since the 1500s, since a Jesuit priest brought Christian confession to that place. And as soon as he did, as soon as he brought Christian confession, the next article that we saw was artifacts with Japanese writing in it from the emperor's edict that was passed out to villages that said, if you know or are harboring Christians, this will not work out well. For you. And Jesus, again, he doesn't just simply say, Go there and I hope it works out for you. He's the good shepherd. He lays down his life for his sheep. He says, I'll never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you. We're not alone in our following, Jesus. Instead, we have a faithful one who guards, guides, strengthens, and provides all that we need. Why do we go? Because we trust him. Why do we go where he tells us to go? Because we trust him full stop. We trust him no matter what. Even if that path leads us through the valley of the shadow of death, we fear no evil because we know he's already been there. And we know he's already conquered, and we know he's already king, and we know he's already coming, and we have our hope set upon Jesus and his glory. And there are so many wolves that you and I face today. And it's not necessarily those that are out there trying to destroy the church. Thankfully, we don't live in that type of setting yet. We there are individuals who definitely are would love for us, even in our town. They would love for us not to be here. They would love for us not to be here. But there are all types of wolves that we face, some that bark loud and others that we can't see, that are barking in our own souls. You feel it, don't you? You feel the resistance to God rising up. You feel that wolf barking that has you, God's told you this way. He wants you to go this way, but for whatever reason, there's this little bit of resistance because you don't trust him. Or the wolf of false teaching that all Oftentimes comes and says that idea that I addressed in the beginning that says following Jesus should make your life easier. Well, sometimes it just doesn't. And if you think that it is, you're probably not faithfully following Jesus because Paul said, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And there's this false notion of this easy believism, this easy following Jesus. It's false teaching. There's also the wolf of self-interest. Self-interest where we place our needs first. We place our needs first. We're not even worried about the needs of others. We're not worried about submitting ourselves to Christ. We want a Christ who serves us instead of a life that serves Christ. That's a wolf that we're in the midst of. And this wolf constantly tries to come in our confession and devour us. And for some, the wolf is spiritual apathy. For some, the wolf is unaware that Christ has called you to live your life in your sphere of influence, influential for him. Some of you are not kindling afresh the gift that God has placed within you. Instead, it's just a little flickering flame. You're going through the motions, you're coming to church, you've got all the externals, but if God were to let us see and peer back, you would see not a life that's brimming with a fervent faith, but a floundering faith. Because you're apathetic to God's ways, to God's glory, to God's purpose. Or you're just settling for comfort. You would rather have things comfortable. Don't bother me. I'm not going to bother anybody else. My faith is my faith. As long as I'm comfortable with no challenge, I'm settled. Because I'm already apathetic anyway. So might as well be comfortable. I don't want to make anybody else uncomfortable. I'm just going to be self-interest. I'm just going to live my life. I'm going to hope for the best. And we'll see who makes it with me. Jesus says, I am sending you. And regardless of what follows, that I'm sending you. We go because we trust him. You know why else we go? We go because he's given us a vision. Remember who it is that's telling us this. It's not just any master, it's the king of the ages. It's the one who was once dead, who is now alive. You know why we go? We go because we see what the wolves cannot see. We see a world that's soaked and saturated with sin. But we see a world where the glory of God and his goodness has broken in. We feel it in our own lives. We know the hope that we have, the joy-filled expect the joy-filled expectation that wherever he is, that's where I will be. It says, the people who walked in darkness, they've seen a great light. And then we have this beautiful Savior who's come, this Savior who comes, and he begins to judge the nations with his own righteousness. And the result is this beautiful picture of the end times that Jesus has for us. This hope-filled expectation that fills our vision beyond looking at the waves, beyond looking at the wolves, we look to who Jesus is and what he has promised is coming. Listen to what he says. Isaiah chapter 11, verse 6. The wolf shall dwell with the Lamb. Oh wow. Do you see why Jesus had no issue telling his disciples, I'm sending you in the midst of a bunch of wolves? You know why he could say that? Because he knew that those wolves were already defeated. He knew that those places that were difficult, he was unashamed and willing to go. Not only willing to go, willing to come, not only willing to come, but willing to send us right there. Because there is no place that his mercy and grace is not fit for. We go because we see what the wolves cannot. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb. Listen to how, listen to how personal this is. Doesn't, as we read this passage in Isaiah chapter 11, doesn't this raise a longing in your heart that says, Lord, let it be so? Listen. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb. The leopard shall lie down with the young goat. The calf and the lion and the fattened calf together, and the little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze. Their young shall lie down together. The lion shall eat straw, just like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra. The weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. Listen to what he says. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. As Martin Luther used to say, the body they may kill. But God's truth abideth still. Do you know what that means for us? It means that we are willing to go as Christ's ambassadors, as those who follow Jesus. We are willing to go wherever he sends us. Jesus is aware of our circumstances. He knows what he's called us to. And he also knows the grace that he provides. And what kind of grace is it? It's sufficient grace for everything that we need to be whatever God has called us to be. You know, I read this passage. I was thinking about the truth. We at First Baptist and Starmold, we want to live since. We want to follow Jesus and invite others to come along. We want to follow Jesus. What does that mean? It means wherever he leads us, that's where we want to go. Because we have this beautiful vision, not of what can be, but who he is. And who he is determines what will be. I was reading this passage and I was thinking about the difficulty and the challenge. Just imagine how it must have been for these men and these women to hear these words for the first time. And say, well, if that's what it means to be a faithful follower of Jesus, sign me up. Paul says it this way. And this is Romans chapter 8. This is after that wonderful passage that all of us know that he, Romans 8, 28, that says, We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. But listen to what he says next in verse 35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? And listen to what he says next. And I've never understood what Paul said until this moment. As it is written, for your sake, we are being killed all day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Listen to what Paul says next. Nay or no. In all these things. God's for us, who can be against us? God has good prepared for those who loved him. Sheep that are slaughtered, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. I'm sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God through Christ our Lord. Why do we go? Simply because He tells us to go. This is, we're not lost in wondering. We're simply following Jesus. We haven't lost our minds. We've found our life in giving our life wholly to him. This is why David Livingston was a missionary to Africa, and he said, I see the smoke of a thousand villages where Christ has yet to be named. Or William Booth, who said, I want to plant William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, who said, I want to plant a flag at the gates of hell. Or even Charles Spurgeon, who said, If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed. For we are not intimidated by the wolves, because we have a shepherd who's good and who leads us. In 1939, as Britain is preparing for another world war, they had a king, King George, who had a severe stuttering problem. He gave a famous speech during Christmas to encourage those that were with him, his subjects, on an unparalleled opportunity to trust, to be vigilant. He said, he quoted a poem that was written in the early 1900s. And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown. And that's honestly where most of us are as we think about following Jesus. What are we wanting? We're wanting a light so that we may tread safely into the unknown. But he was met there in that moment. And he replied, Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than the light and safer than a known way. And some of you here this morning, you're saying, No, mm-mm. I don't want to put my hand into the hand of the unknown. I don't want, I want the light. I want the known way. That's the safe way for me. And my word for you is simply this. God's plan, God's path is better than what we can know, and safer than anything that we can imagine. And listen to me, you just have to trust him. And I'm not telling you to trust me, because there's so much that I don't know. But I'm here simply as his messenger, telling you to trust him. And who's the hymn that calls us to trust him? It's one who has been to the grave and has walked out of the grave fully alive. Remember what Jesus says? He doesn't say go that way. He says, follow me. And he leads us where he's always been. And when he sends us, he stays with us forever. Can you this morning hear the Savior calling? Can you hear him calling? You know what he's saying? Follow. Follow. Follow me. Why? Because he is entirely trustworthy. And my prayer for you is that you will trust him with all of your heart. Father, we do trust you. And Father, we're so grateful for the way that you love us, that you lead us, that you never forsake us. And Father, we can hear your voice giving us assurance, giving us clear direction, calling us to go wherever you send us. Father, would you find us faithful? Would you raise up an awareness of who you are in our heart? This overwhelming vision of Jesus. So that we'll be able to say, wherever he leads, I'm gonna go. Thank you for never leaving us nor forsaking us. Thank you for not calling us to figure it out. Thank you for being with us. In Jesus' name. Amen.